Fittes Academy
by BookProtector
Summary: Lucy Carlyle is the new girl at Fittes Academy, a boarding school in the middle of nowhere. After meeting the pessimistic George Cubbins, and the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. She discovers something incredible, she can hear ghosts. After a near miss with a serious case of ghost touch. The team is honor bound to save the school.
1. Chapter 1

I was sitting on a bus. The bus was empty other than myself and my luggage. Rain pattered mournfully on the windows. When I shifted my weight the seat squeaked. I was on my way to my new school. Before we get this started I should introduce myself. I'm Lucy Carlyle, fourteen years old, fifteen in two months. I have short brown hair, and big brown eyes. My clothes were old, and worn, and my boots had a hole in them. With thick brows, and long nose I wasn't exactly what you would call pretty. Still, I had seen worse in my life. I was on my way to my

new school, I was starting partway through the year.

The bus jerked to a stop, and I put my hand on the seat in front of me to stop from crashing headfirst into the old plastic covering.

"Here's your stop girl." The driver called. I thanked him, grabbed my luggage, and moved toward the door. Outside the rain had slowed to a drizzle. I pulled out my umbrella, then took a look around. I could see the bus, driving away, the bus stop, and an old dirt road, I could see a blurry gray smudge in that direction. Since there was nothing else in sight, I figured the road led to my school.

After about an hour of walking I got close enough to actually see it. My school was a massive, castle-like structure, surrounded by a high iron fence. There were even two towers, one on either side. I think I must've stopped dead for a minute, when I got myself together I started forward again. The road soon changed from dirt, to cobblestones, and a few high lampposts shone their lonely spotlights down on me as I passed. The closer I got, the more imposing the structure seemed. It gave off an aura of cold austerity, but unless I wanted to go back this was the way to go.

When I reached the gate to the premises I found it locked. I looked for one of those fancy intercom things you see in movies, but didn't find one. I tried knocking, and as a last resort yelled for someone to come let me in. No one came. Probably because it was raining. I looked around, and found nobody in sight, so I shoved my lugged between the bars, and worked on climbing the fence. It was slippery, but not too bad. I gave up holding the umbrella halfway through, and tossed it over to the other side, where it landed in a puddle with a splash. Once I reached the top, I paused to look at the curiously pointed tips of the iron posts.

"What are you doing?" I must admit, to my embarrassment that I slipped. I let out a cry as I fell, and tried to grab onto something to break my fall. I failed, and plummeted down into the mud below. I groaned, at least I was on the other side now. "Who are you?" I tilted my head back to look into the face of one of the most filthy sights of my life.

"Who are _you_?" I asked, and sat up, trying to wipe as much of the mud off me as possible. It was a girl, she had frizzy straw colored curls, that stuck out from her face almost horizontally. She was wearing a puffy blue coat, an old pair of jeans whose faded knees rivaled my own. A big pair of wellington rain boots protected her feet from the mud I was kneeling in.

"Flo Bones." She said, "Now who are you? And why were you climbing the fence? Trespassers aren't allowed." She pointed to a sign I hadn't noticed before.

"I'm Lucy Carlyle, and I climbed the fence because I couldn't get in."

"Evidently." Flo said drily. Suddenly realization seemed to come to her, "Oh! Are you the new student Mr. Rotwell was going on about?"

"Probably?" I said, and began to gather up my stuff. I folded up the umbrella, it was useless now, I was completely soaked.

"I've got to go, gardening business." Flo said matter-of-factly, "But the schools that way." She pointed, "Good luck."

"Thanks." I said, but she was already gone. I tucked my umbrella under my arm and trudged up the the steps to the school. The doors were enormous, at least twice my height. There was a large iron knocker on each side. I grabbed the closest one, and swung it. It it the hollow wood with a massive thud. I waited, knocked again, and waited some more. When nobody came, I pushed it open hesitantly.

The inside was almost as impressive as the outside. High ceilings, and chandeliers were above me. A portrait of a beautiful, middle aged woman was to my left, a painting of a unicorn to my right. I stepped inside, and shut the door behind me. It was warm inside, though not particularly welcoming.

I looked around for somebody to tell me where to go, but found the entrance hall deserted. There were smaller hallways leading left and right. I decided to take the left passageway. The inside of the hall was empty, although there were several wooden doors on either side of me. They were all shut. Eventually I came to another crossroads, I chose to go right this time, and ran headlong into a person.

We both cried out, and went toppling to the hard stone beneath us. Whoever I had run into was on top of me, and I was losing air by the second. They scrambled upright, and helped me up. Then I got a good look at him.

He was tall, taller than I was, and very slim. Dark brown hair hung elegantly over one eye, and he brushed it out of the way, revealing even darker brown eyes. He was wearing a pair of dress shoes, too tight pants, a button up white shirt, and a navy blue blazer with a pin over his heart. There was also a red, and gray plaid tie that hung down over his chest.

"Sorry about that," He was saying, "wasn't watching where I was going." Then he got a good look at me. "Say, are you the new kid?" he asked me.

"Guess so." I grunted. He beamed, and some of the cold aura seemed to blow away,

"Brilliant! I was just coming to get you. What happened to you? You're covered in mud."

"I fell." I said shortly.

"Must've been some fall." He said cheerily, "Follow me, let's go to the headmaster's office." I reached for my bag, but he beat me to it. "What's your name?" He asked me, "I'm Lockwood."

"Lucy." I supplied. I thought about being friendlier, but dismissed the idea almost immediately. I needed food before I could make friends.

"Well Lucy, welcome to Fittes Academy! It's pretty big, but you'll get used to it."

"Where is everybody?" I asked,

"It's the middle of the day," He told me, "classes are in. If you hadn't found me it would've been a half hour till someone found you. Look, here we are." We were standing in front of another closed door, although this one had a nameplate beside it. It read _Miss Fittes._ Lockwood leaned forward and knocked briskly. Almost immediately there was a reply,

"Come in." Said Miss. Fittes. Lockwood, grinned at me, hand on the doorknob,

"Ready?" He asked, but before I could reply, he swung the door open.

Inside looked like every office I had ever been in before. Books lined the walls, filling their shelves with a well-read authority. There were two hard backed wooden chairs in front of a large dark wood desk. At the desk was a woman, who was looking up at us expectantly. She had curly dark hair, and smooth dark skin. High cheekbones, and big dark eyes formed her face. She was beautiful in a cold, regal way, just like the rest of the school.

"Sit down." she said. It sounded like a command. Lockwood strode in confidently, I shut the door behind me, and followed him with less grace. We sat down. She smiled at us thinly, "I take it you are Lucy Carlyle?" She said.

"Yes." I confirmed,

"Fourteen years old?"

"Yes."

"Transferring because of an unfortunate accident?" I swallowed,

"Yes."

"Okay, thank you, do you think you could fill this out?" She asked, and pushed a sheet of paper and a pen my way. I looked the paper over and began filling out the blanks. It was your typical document, asking my age, gender, birth date, address, etc. Once I finished, and signed my name at the bottom I handed it back to her. Miss. Fittes skimmed over it, then tucked it away in a drawer. She pulled out another piece of paper, and handed it to me. "Your schedule." She said, "Anthony, help her get acquainted with the school. You start tomorrow. You are both dismissed." We stood up, and left. When Lockwood shut the door behind us, I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"Well," Lockwood said happily, "Let's take a look!" We peered at the crisp piece of paper in my hand.

 _1 - Homeroom - 207_

 _2 - Maths - 159_

 _3 - History - 783_

 _4 - Science - 300_

 _5 - Art - 209_

 _6 - English - 566_

 _7 - Fencing - Gym 2_

"We have homeroom, and fencing together!" Lockwood cheered, "And you have maths, history, and english with George."

"Who's George?" I asked.

"George Cubbins." He said, and started down the hall, "Best researcher in the school, and my friend."

"So," I began, "is there anything I need to know about the school?"

"Make sure to tuck in your shirt, don't be caught after hours, don't fail a class, iron your jacket, do your homework, keep your room clean, don't go into the boy's dorms." He listed. The bell rang, loudly, and all of the sudden we were awash in a river of bodies, all clad in navy blazers, and red plaid ties.

Lockwood turned around, and handed me my bag.

"I have to go now, Girls dorms are down that hallway." He pointed, "Get settled, I'll see you at dinner!" And then he was gone, and I was left to face the school alone.


	2. Chapter 2

I found the dorms without any trouble, after all, there was a big sign reading _Girls_ above it. There was a silver unicorn on the front of the door. I went inside. It was, wait for it, a hallway with doors on either side. There was a nameplate on each door, and I wandered down it, until I found my name. The door opened with an ominous creaking noise, to reveal an insignificant interior.

Against one wall was a bed, made with crisp white sheets and a big navy comforter. In one corner there was a desk with a pile of neatly folded clothes on it, a shelf above the desk held two books. Between the two was a window. There was a red rug in the center of the stone floor. I dropped my stuff in the middle of the room, and explored the doors on the right wall. One was a closet filled with white shirts, and red skirts, the other was an empty bathroom.

I wandered absently back into the main room, and collapsed on the bed like a puppet with it's strings cut. For a minute I just laid there, contemplating my stony welcome. Unbidden, Lockwood's face flashed in my thoughts. Well, at least he had been nice.

Encouraged by the thought of a friendly face, I stood up abruptly, and moved to the desk. I picked up my new uniform, and unfolded it gingerly. It was a fancy looking uniform, if a little stiff. There was a navy blue blazer, with a silver unicorn pin on the left hand side. A crisp, white button up shirt that looked as if the collar had been made of stiff boards, instead of fabric. There was the red, and gray, pleated plaid skirt, with the matching tie. A pair of high navy socks, and some ankle high brown boots.

"Well," I said, "I'm going to have to wear this at some point anyway."

The clothes felt stiff, awkward, and uncomfortable on me. I looked in the mirror on the back of my door. At least they fit right. The problem was, I had no idea how to tie a tie. I was holding the tie in my hand, it had already attempted to strangle me once, and I wasn't letting it near my neck until someone showed me how to do it properly. I tossed the offender onto my bed, and bent down to lace up the boots. They were in good condition, no holes, no tattered laces, no cracked soles, yet in a way they felt more uncomfortable than my old shoes.

A bell rang, and I stood up hopefully, I was looking forward to dinner. The problem? I didn't know where the cafeteria was, and I didn't even know when dinner was. I poked my head out the door, and peered back and forth. The corridor was abandoned, which was to be expected considering that classes were in, or had just been in. I left the relative comfort of my room, and shut the door behind me.

Once I left the girls dormitories, I had to admit that I was lost. Really lost. I saw a few people hurrying in the opposite direction, I tried to ask the friendliest looking one where the cafeteria was, but they hurried past, barely glancing my way. Eventually, I decided to follow the next person I saw until they a) found the cafeteria, or b) told me to stop stalking them. I looked up, and down the hallway. As was my luck, it was deserted.

After about ten minutes, I heard a door open, and shut around the next corner. Hope surged up in me, and I began to jog. I skidded around the bend, and saw a retreating back. I dashed up and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, and appraised me with no small amount of disdain. He was small, shorter than I was, and almost delicate looking. His face was plain, the only notable part of him was his carrot red hair.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Is it time for dinner?" I asked, "If so, where is the cafeteria?" He scowled,

"You're the new student aren't you, shouldn't you know where it is?"

"How am I supposed to know where anything is when I haven't even been here before today?" I asked, irritated. I thought I saw the ghost of a smirk cross his features, then he was a cold as the rest of the school.

"Fine." He said, and swiveled around, "Follow me, but next time be prepared." He strode off, and didn't look back to see if I was following him.

Eventually he reached a set of double doors that he opened. I peered over him into the room. It was a big as the entrance hall, although this space was filled with long tables, and benches. Everywhere I looked there were people in crisp white shirts, and red plaid ties.

"Lucy!" I looked around startled, searching for the disembodied voice that had called my name. I found Lockwood in the center of the throng, waving a long-fingered hand. I felt slightly relieved, and weaved my way towards him. Before I was halfway there, he appeared at my side silently. He smiled, "You need to get your food first!" He said, "Follow me." He led me to a long line of people where, with his help, I managed to get a scoop of some porridge like substance, and a banana. He led me to a table where he sat down, and patted the empty seat next to him. I sat down, feeling endlessly grateful that someone as helpful as him existed.

"Finally, Lockwood." Said a boy sitting across from me. He was a slightly podgy person, just shorter than me, with a mop of curly blonde hair, and cloudy round glasses. As I watched, he took them off and polished them irritably on the edge of his blazer. "I've been waiting for ages. I finished looking into what you asked. Who's this?"

"I'm Lucy," I said, "are you George?" He perched his glasses back onto his nose.

"Really Lockwood? Another one?" He asked. "You know what happened last time." Lockwood waved a hand airily,

"That all turned out fine didn't it? Now, what do you think this is?" He asked, and stuck a spoon into the lumpy mound on his tray.

"What happened last time?" I asked, slightly curious, and slightly suspicious.

"Oh nothing serious." Lockwood said, and stuck the spoon in his mouth. He nodded appreciatively. "Not bad." and took another bite. His words encouraged me, and I tried it. I had eaten worse, but I had also eaten better, much better.

"Anyway, Lockwood, I looked into that tower room for you." If it was possible, Lockwood perked up more,

"What did you find?" George had already finished his slop, so he started on a plum.

"Some kid died up there, jumped out the window or something." He wiped his fingers on his shirt, leaving big red stains, "His name was Victor Chen, Chinese boy. Apparently he was missing two fingers."

"But that doesn't explain why we aren't allowed up there." Lockwood said, and stood up. "I'm going to get some water, want any, Lucy, George?"

"I'll have some." I said, George declined. Once Lockwood was gone I turned back to George. "What happened last time?" I asked.

"We got somebody expelled." He said nonchalantly, "Are you going to eat that banana?" I picked it up and peeled it,

"How'd they get expelled?" I asked,

"Oh, he might not've been careful enough when he was on the roof. Someone found him up there. It was Kipps I expect." I choked on my banana, and hacked for a moment.

"The _roof?_ " I said, with a little disbelief once I recovered. "How do you even get up there?"

"Why? Thinking of going up there yourself?" He had hit the nail on the head,

"Maybe." George grinned.

"Don't even think about it, someone like you wouldn't last a minute up there." Now _that_ ruffled my feathers.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I hissed angrily. His blotchy face was looking really hit-able right now.

"Well," He said, "you couldn't even find your way to the cafeteria. Kipps had to help you." So his name was Kipps, the same Kipps who had found their last friend on the roof. Something about the way George spoke his name made me take immediate dislike to him.

"I'll get on the roof." I said recklessly, "Just tell me how to, and I'll do it." George's smile grew broader.

"Jolly good, we'll come with you!" I jumped, and whirled around. Lockwood had materialized seemingly from nowhere. He set a glass of water down in front of me, and took a sip out of another cup. I eyed him,

"I thought your friend got expelled for being up there." I said. He shrugged,

"Yes well, we never got to get up there did we?" He said, pointing first at George, then at himself. "And we still need to see what's in the tower room!"

"Okay fine." I said, "When should we go?"

"Tonight." Lockwood said without hesitation.

"I thought you said not to wander around after hours." I reminded him. He grinned, and held up a finger.

"I told you not to get _caught_ after hours." He said. "And that was only a suggestion." I felt my lips tug up at the corners, I was liking these people more and more.

"Where should we meet?" I asked.

"I'll come get you." Lockwood said, "Then we'll meet George in the library, sound good?" George nodded in confirmation, and I grinned widely.

"Deal." I said, then the bell rang.

I finished my banana, and tossed the peel on my tray. Lockwood nudged me,

"Come on, I'll show you where we're allowed to go after classes are over, yes bring your tray." The three of us threw our trash away, and stacked the trays semi-neatly next to the lunch line. I followed Lockwood, and George as they showed me where the library, the common room, and the yard. It was pouring, so we didn't go outside. I wondered whether the rain would make it troublesome to get onto the roof, but the boys didn't seem bothered, so I put it out of my mind

"And this," George said grumpily, "Is why being careful pays off." He had just saved Lockwood from an impressive fall, by grabbing the back of his shirt. The rescuer was standing proudly over the rescued, who was massaging his neck.

"It's not my fault they decided to wash the floors today." Lockwood said, and stood up, now sporting a very red neck. "Anyway, it's nearly time for lights out. They patrol the halls for the first hour, and a half. I'll get you after that." He told me. "Here, I'll show you back." I followed him, and we abandoned George, who said he was going back to the library to grab a book he had forgotten. As much as I enjoyed having someone show me where everything was, I was getting annoyed at myself for not knowing where anything was. I was tired of having to follow Lockwood everywhere. "Don't worry, you'll get your bearings soon." Lockwood said, as if he had read my mind. "It's a big school, takes everyone a little while to get used to it."

"Do I need to bring anything for tonight?" I asked, no longer tentative.

"No." Lockwood said, "Just your courage, and wit." He said, and smiled at me. I found myself smiling back. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad here after all.

"I'll do my best." I said.

"That's all I ask, here we are." We had reached my dormitories, I was opening the door when the bell rang loudly. We both jumped. "I'll be seeing you soon!" Lockwood cried, and began running back the way we came. I waved, and went inside.

I didn't change out of my uniform, I had left most of my clothes at home, and didn't want to soil anything I had left. Instead I pulled out a sketchpad, and began doodling absentmindedly. I ended up with a rough drawing of the girl I had met in the yard, Flo Bones.

I laid on my bed, I unpacked my few belongings, I looked out the window at the setting sun, I began reading the books above my desk (Fittes Academy Handbook, and Fittes Academy: a History). I explored my closet, I tapped my fingers, and when my watch read nine thirty, I heard a knock on the door.

When I opened it I was unsurprised to see Lockwood, beaming down at me.

"Ready?" He whispered. I smirked back, and nodded firmly.

"Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

We found George in the library, he was slouched in an old, leather armchair, skimming through a thick tome. When we came in he stood up, and left the book on a side table.

"You ready?" Lockwood asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He said, "Still don't understand why we couldn't have done this on a night when it's _not_ raining."

"Oh we'll be fine, a little rain never hurt anybody. Come on." We followed him up a flight a flight of stairs, then around corner.

"This is where the older students live." George whispered to me, "Technically we're not supposed to be up here."

"By technically," I whispered back, "you mean actually?"

"Something like that." We climbed up another staircase, and snuck down a long hallway. We turned left, then Lockwood stopped so abruptly I ran into him.

"Sorry, Luce." He said. I took note of the nickname, but chose not to remark upon it. "We're here!" Here, was a large window. It had a pair of shutters, and a big sill on the outside. Lockwood leaned forward, and began working on the clasp that kept the panes shut. He had some trouble, but eventually got it unlocked. He pulled the panes inward, then pushed the shutters outward. A gust of cold, humid air came in. The rain had stopped.

Lockwood climbed up onto the sill and smiled at us. His teeth seemed to glow in the dark,

"Alright, once I go up wait one minute, then George you come up. Lucy, you're in charge of shutting the window, okay?"

"Sure." I said. Lockwood stood up, so we could only see his too tight trousers, then those too vanished. I counted to sixty in my head, at about seventy-three George followed him. I waited for sixty seconds, then too climbed onto the sill.

It was wide, and I had enough room. What worried me was the fact that it was still a little wet. I tried not to look down. I shut the window, and stood up cautiously, keeping one and on the stone wall for balance. When I looked up I could see the overhang of the roof. If I stretched up I could reach the edge. Lockwood's face leaned over me, and held out his hands. I grabbed them, and together we managed to haul me onto the roof. I now understood why he went first, neither me, nor George would've been able to get up here on our own.

The roof was a big slanted affair, it was slippery, and we clung to the shingles tightly to keep from sliding off the edge. Lockwood began to shuffle towards the nearest tower. I followed, and George was close behind me. Just past the tower, the roof stopped, and for a moment, I thought I saw something plunge down over the edge. I made my way to the edge, and peered down. I saw nothing besides the ground, so very far away.

"Lucy, what are you doing?" George hissed, "Come on."

"Sorry." I whispered back, and focused my attention on the task at hand. Lockwood had reached the base of the tower, and was fingering some of the bricks as if he was thinking of climbing.

"So," Lockwood began, "George, did you find out how to get in from here?" He nodded, and pushed his glasses up,

"Yes, there should beー"

"Hold up." I said, "I never said I was going in there, the roof? Yes. The tower, No."

"Why?" George asked snidely, "Are you _scared_?" I bristled,

"No. I'll come, how do we get up?"

"Lucy," Lockwood said, "You don't haveー" I shot him a look, and he fell silent.

"There should be a ladder on the west side, underneath the window." George said.

"The same window the Chinese kid jumped out of?" I asked, thinking of the thing I had seen falling over the edge.

"Well that's foreboding," Lockwood said, "Let's go!" We crawled over the apex of the roof, until Lockwood found the ladder. He climbed up first, then George, I came last. There was a halt in operations while Lockwood figured out how to open the window from the outside. I still don't know how he did it. When we resumed our quest the wind had picked up a little, I brushed my hair out of my face, and reached the top of the ladder. I clambered in the window, and looked around.

There was just enough light to see by, enough to send our shadows stretching towards to other side of the room. We were standing in a circular space, completely empty, other than the puddles our wet shoes were now creating. There was another window directly across us, and a wooden trapdoor in the floor. Above us there were some beams, supporting the conical ceiling. One of the beams has something on it, a corner of something wooden was poking out from the edge of it.

"Hey Lockwood," I said, thinking he could get it down if he jumped. Lockwood was too busy looking disappointed.

"Well that's anticlimactic." He complained. George wandered behind me, and began inspecting the other window, the one opposite ours. I turned back to Lockwood.

"So Lockwood, do you think you couldー"

" _Why would you do that?"_ I whirled around in annoyance.

"Really George, can't you let me finish my sentence?" George looked up from the window he was inspecting, his face was a mask of puzzlement.

"I didn't say anything."

"You did too."

"Did not."

" _Anyway,"_ Lockwood said sternly, "What were you saying Lucy?"

"Oh I was just wondering if you could reach that thing up there." I pointed. "Butー"

" _I never did anything to you, did I?"_ I spun around. There was nobody there. This time George looked attentive.

"I heard that." He whispered.

Suddenly the peaceful attic seemed very uninviting. Suddenly I could see all the dark pockets of shadow near the roof. Suddenly I felt very vulnerable, and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to leave the place and never come back.

"You guys are just being jumpy since we're not supposed to be here." Lockwood said reassuringly, "We'll leave, just let me get this thing up here." He reached up towards the thing sticking out over our heads. He couldn't quite reach it, and gave a little hop. When he got closer to the object, my feeling of dread deepened. There was a bad taste in my mouth.

"Lockwood, it doesn't matter, let's go." I (almost) pleaded. George came up next to me, and backed me up,

"Yeah, this place is giving me the creeps." He agreed.

"One second." He said, with a touch of annoyance, "I'd almost got it that time." He jumped again, and once again the higher he got the more uneasy I felt. Only this time he got it.

As it fell I saw it was a plain wooden box, I also saw the lid fall off. All of us saw what fell out onto the floor. I couldn't move, I could barely breathe. Someone screamed, I thought it was George, but couldn't tell. I felt my stomach go into my throat, and Lockwood had stepped away hurriedly.

Because lying on the stone brick floor were two fingers. Human fingers. I won't go into detail here, but I will say that the sight wasn't pleasant. We didn't have much time to goggle at them. Suddenly, I felt very sad, very sad, and very lonely.

"Do you _see_ that?" Lockwood whisper-yelled at us. "The kid by the window." His voice seemed far away, and unimportant, even so I turned to look at the window. I saw something there, but I couldn't make it out.

A fresh wave of hopelessness drowned my thoughts out. Through the storm of negative emotions I could hear one voice clearly,

" _I'm sorry mom, dad."_

"Lucy? What are you sorry for?" It was George, I didn't look at him,

" _I just can't take it anymore."_ I moved towards the window slowly. George was shouting something, but it didn't matter, because it would be over soon.

Something grabbed my wrist, and hauled me back. I was turned around roughly, and found myself staring into Lockwoods eyes.

"Lucy. Don't touch it." I blinked. And suddenly I realized what I had been about to do. I almost hyperventilated.

"I.. I almost," I stuttered, "I almost…" Lockwood cupped my face in his hands, and looked at me sternly,

"I know Luce. Now let's get out of here." He was right. With some difficulty, I pulled myself together and found my footing.

The thing by the window had settled on the shape of a boy about my age. He was Asian, with big dark eyes, and short black hair. He was missing two fingers on his left hand. He was also crying.

As I watched he turned around, and stepped towards the window. Then he jumped. All the sudden, all the pressure I felt vanished. My ears popped, the bad taste in my mouth disappeared, and all of us breathed sighs of relief. We just stood there, I think we were in shock. Lockwood had gone a funny gray color, and George was shaking slightly.

I snapped out of it first,

"What _was_ that?" I asked roughly. "I almost died!" I added angrily. I didn't know what I was angry about, maybe the fact that I had almost committed suicide.

"George," Lockwood said quietly, "do you have a picture of Victor Chen?" All at once we turned to look at the fingers on the floor. I looked away almost as soon as I had seen them.

"Downstairs." He said. "Let's go back." Lockwood nodded slowly, then seemed to come back to himself.

"Right! Off we go, some formation as last time, me, George, Lucy." Together we shambled across the roof and down onto the window sill. Lockwood pushed the window open, and George went down. Before I followed them, I looked back at the tower. In the dark, I thought I saw something tumble from the window. Last time I saw that I had dismissed it as nerves, now I wasn't so sure.

Once we were all inside, Lockwood pulled the shutters closed, and locked the window again.

"Now," He said, "We're going to go to one of our bedrooms, and discuss what we just saw. Any objections?"

"My room is off limits." George said, "I still haven't cleaned up after, after the _incident._ " Lockwood looked annoyed,

"Really George, still? Fine, we'll use my room, off we go!" I followed them through the cold, empty halls of Fittes Academy. A few times I thought I heard whispers following us, but when I turned around there was nothing there.

Suddenly Lockwood stopped. This time George ran into him. I looked up into the face of a stern looking man, glaring down at us. Even after our harrowing experience, Lockwood wasn't fazed. He smiled his best smile, and spoke politely,

"Good evening, Mr Rotwell."


	4. Chapter 4

He glared at us. George, and I glared right back. Lockwood, did the exact opposite, and practically radiated goodwill.

"What are you doing up here at this time of night?" He asked sternly.

"Oh just showing Lucy around." He said, and gestured at me, "We were doing it earlier, but then the bell rang, of course we have to make sure that she can get to her first classes tomorrow." Rotwell did not look convinced,

"Then why are you up here?" I stepped forward,

"I was curious sir," I said as pleasantly as I could manage, "I asked to see what was up here." He scowled,

"Come to my office, we'll work it out there." With that, he spun on his heel, and marched off. George, and I had to jog to keep up, Lockwood just had to walk a little faster. I still felt shaky, but more or less back to normal. I no longer heard any whispers, and maybe I imagined it, but the shadows seemed to part for Rotwell, letting him (and us) through.

He ushered us into a small room, not unlike Miss Fittes office. The main difference was the fact that it was not books the filled the shelves, but jars. I peered at one as I passed it, it had what looked like a knife in it. I sat down in a chair, and waited for Rotwell to settle himself opposite us.

"It's time to discuss punishment," He said, "you have a few options. You can have detention, clean the cafeteria, mop the gym, or do yard work. Any preferences?" Lockwood looked at us, and then shook his head.

"No, Sir."

"Now, Lockwood, Cubbins, you get an extra half hour of punishment, no matter what I give to you. Carlyle, since you're new, for now you're off the hook." I smirked slightly, and I think he saw it because then he said, "But don't let this happen again. After all, you wouldn't want to go back home would you?"

The smile slid off my face, and I shook my head. He looked at me for a moment, then pinched the bridge of his nose, and waved a hand.

"Dismissed, I'll send someone to tell you your punishment later." I stood up, and moved towards the door, feeling endlessly relieved. "Wait a moment, Carlyle." I halted, and turned back around.

"What as the name of the teacher? The one driving the bus?"

"Jacobs." I said. "Why?"

"No reason, good night."

"Good night, Sir."

The door shut behind me as I left. Lockwood, and George were waiting for me.

"What was that about?" The latter asked.

"Nothing. What do we do now?"

"Wait for our punishment." Lockwood said cheerily,

"I meant about the _thing_ in the tower." I reminded him.

"Oh yes, let's discuss it tomorrow, I don't know about you, but I'm rather tired." He yawned, as if to prove his point. I didn't want to wait, I wanted to find out what happened _now_. But I was tired, so I agreed, if somewhat reluctantly.

"Good idea." George murmured. "I think I need to look into this tower room a little more." Lockwood nodded enthusiastically,

"Yes! And of course, we have to get lots of sleep for Lucy's first day tomorrow!" I was faintly surprised to realize he was right, it _was_ my first full day here tomorrow. I had felt so at home with Lockwood, and George I forgotten.

"Oh. Yeah." I said grimly, "That'll be so much fun." Lockwood patted my shoulder,

"Oh buck up, it can't be that bad can it?"

It could, and I would soon find that out firsthand.

My first day of school started to the clanging of a bell. I rolled over in bed, and put the pillow over my ears. Eventually I forced myself out of bed, wincing when my feet hit the cold floor. I got dressed in one of seven identical uniforms, and brushed my hair, and teeth. On the way out I grabbed my blazer, and shoved my schedule into one of its pockets.

I figured breakfast was in the cafeteria, so I wandered around until I found the doors Kipps had led me to the previous night. I heard voices coming from inside, so I opened them. I had been correct in my assumption. I got in line, and received two pancakes from a stern looking woman with flyaway gray hair. At the end of the queue I snatched an orange, then tried to find Lockwood, and George.

They were sitting where they had been the evening before. George had two medium sized books at his elbow. I made my way over to them.

"Really?" Lockwood was saying, "I don't know, that seems a little far fetched. Oh, hi Luce!"

"Hi." I said, and sat down, "What are you talking about?" Lockwood took a bite of pancake, and gestured towards George, who set down his water.

"I was reading up on the tower." He said, and patted the books with a syrupy hand. "And I think the school is haunted." I rolled my eyes,

"Really." I said drily, "Haunted."

"Yes!" He cried emphatically, "Remember how we could barely see it? And how cold it was up there?" Now that I thought about it, it _had_ been pretty cold. "Also the fingers, remember? The kid who died up there, Victor Chen, he was missing two fingers!" I remembered the fingers all right, he had a point there.

"Well…" I started, "What if the thing we saw wasn't a person? It could've been something else."

"Oh it was definitely a person." Said Lockwood, "He was practically glowing too. And remember the effect it had on you?" I thought back to the hopeless I had felt that night, and suppressed a shudder.

"I remember." I said, and started on my hotcakes.

"And how he jumped out the window, but there was nothing on the ground when we left." George continued, "I looked, no broken body, nothing."

"Okay." I said, "If possibly, hypothetically speaking, it _was_ a ghost, what do we do about it?" George held up a chubby finger,

"I looked that up too!" He said, and pointed at the book underneath the heavier tome. "Iron. Or silver, lavender should work too."

"I still don't think it's a ghost." I said, "But if it _is_ then what do we do about it? Whatever it was, it was obviously dangerous."

"Well we have to get rid of it of course!" Lockwood cried, and downed the last of his breakfast. "You better eat that orange soon, Lucy, the bell's going to ring any second." True to his word, the Bell rang, and the room began to empty. I shoved the orange into my pocket, and stood up. We threw our trash away, and left the cafeteria. George was lugging the books around, and had to adjust them them every thirty seconds. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I had homeroom with them, so I just followed them. They past a drafty hallway into an old classroom. It looked like your typical classroom, desks, front whiteboard, windows. Lockwood told me where to sit, then sat down next to me. George sat on his other side.

A few minutes later a teacher walked in. He stood at the front of the room and took role. When my name was called there was an awkward moment when everybody looked at me with no small amount of confusion. I put on a bored face, and said 'here' as sullenly as possible. The teacher introduced himself as Mr. Barnes, and began talking about some school event next week.

His speech was interrupted by the bell. I gathered my stuff, and waited for the others. Lockwood, was done first, he waited for George with me,

"I have science next, it's the other way." He explained, "I'll see you at lunch!" and then he was off, striding down the corridor with confidence I only wished I had.

I wandered down the hall, while waiting for George. I ended up next to the drafty door we had passed to get to homeroom. I opened it, and peeked inside.

It was a small broom closet, bland, and unnoticeable. It was lined with shelves, and there was a broom propped up in one corner. Before I got a good look George announced his presence by stomping down the hall like bigfoot come to life. I shut the door, and went up to him.

"So," I said, "you really think this school is haunted?" He frowned,

"You know, I'm not sure. Everything I've read matches up, I was up til two last night researching, and visitors were the only thing that fit the description. I think we should conduct an experiment to find out whether I'm right, or not."

"Visitor? And what kind of experiment?"

"Visitor is another word for ghost. I think we should go back up to the tower room, but with something iron, or silver on us, and see if we experience the same phenomenon."

"Reasonable." I agreed, "Now where in the world are we?"


	5. Chapter 5

Maths was awful, but I had never really been good at the whole 'remember the complicated equations thing' so it was to be expected. History, and science were almost as bad.

After that George abandoned me. I found the room, and opened the door. The art room was filled with the familiar scent of paint, and ink. It had two long, paint stained tables that ran the length of the room. A large, dark, wooden desk was in one corner, and a whiteboard at the front of the room was completely covered in artwork, stuck to the wall with magnets. It felt nice in there, friendly, comfortable.

The teacher, a young woman with long blonde hair, introduced herself as Miss Ward, and led me to a seat at the back of the room. I sat down, and she handed me a piece of paper, and a pencil.

"What's this for?" I asked. She smiled gently,

"For drawing of course. On Fridays we have free draw, you can do whatever you want, dear." She drifted away, and began adjusting one of the pictures at the front of the room. I idly sketched something, unsure of what it was to become.

The random lines were beginning to take shape, I thought it might be a graveyard, but never got the chance to finish, because someone tapped me on the shoulder. I set my pencil down, and turned around in my chair.

It was a girl about my age, perhaps a little older. She had pale blonde hair, cut severely across her forehead. Her uniform was unwrinkled, and neat. Her face was cold, and unfriendly.

"You're Julie Carlyle?"

"Lucy, actually." She flicked her hair out of her face,

"Whatever. Tonight you're going to clean the gym, you'll meet there with your _friends_ at nine." She said the word 'friends' as if it was a sour taste on her tongue. I disliked her.

"Okay. What's your name." She glared down at me,

"Kat." She turned on her heel, and strutted out the door. I returned to my paper, feeling slightly discouraged.

In the end, my graveyard looked pretty grim. The lines were thick, and dark. The shadows deep. I left it on my desk when the bell rang.

I had English with George, he passed me a note while the teacher wasn't looking. It said:

 _You have to clean the gym too?_ I scribbled back something affirmative. And went back to doodling on my grammar worksheet. Once English was done with, I headed towards the gym with George.

"The gym is the worst." He was saying, "It's always dirty, and you have to polish it till it shines." We met up with Lockwood, who was carrying a long, hard case. He grinned,

"Ready for rapier play?" George mumbled something darkly, but I smiled back,

"Sure." I had picked up fencing as a hobby when I was younger, and although I wasn't particularly good at it, it was good at distracting you from other other matters. "What do you have in there?" I asked, jerking my head in the general direction of his case.

"Sword." He said, "Got my own last weekend. What are your plans for this weekend?"

"I don't know." I said, "What's there to do around here?"

"You could always pick up a useful hobby." George said.

"Oh fencing is plenty useful, you're just being sore."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. Anyway, you could do lots of things." His dark eyes gleamed when they met mine, "You could explore the tunnels."

"Tunnels?"

"Yes yes, the tunnels, well look we're here!" George interrupted. "Go get changed Lucy, we'll meet you here later."

I found the coach, and he gave me a uniform. I changed in the locker room, and sat down on the bleachers once I was done.

The gym was big, two of the walls had bleachers, two didn't. There were fencing strips on the floor, and a rack of jackets off to the side. One of the walls without bleachers held a rack of sabres. I noticed everyone was getting into their gear, so I hurried to do so myself.

Fencing was fun. I was able to beat three people, I lost to a girl I didn't know, and Lockwood. Lockwood was amazing, he twirled his fancy rapier left, right, and center, and always hit his mark. He never faltered, never stumbled, and always won.

"How'd you do that?" I asked, when he finished a bout. He shrugged,

"Practice." And he turned, and walked away. He tapped someone on the shoulder, and (I assumed) asked them to fight him. I was a little taken aback,

"Don't take him personally." George said, "He sneaks out here to practice at night sometimes, does it to get out his frustration I think." I watched as Lockwood dashed forward, and, yet again, hit his opponent.

"Huh." I said. "Why do you think he does that?"

"To get his frustration out. I just told you." George said, I glared daggers at him,

"I meant _why?_ "

"Oh." He shrugged, "Who knows? He's quite the enigma, I don't get him at all. Too flighty, too cheerful, too good-looking."

"Is someone _jealous?_ " I asked, and smirked. George was unruffled,

"No, not really. He's so good that the teachers always point it out, and he's so busy he never has a chance to just sit and read."

"What're you talking about?" Lockwood asked, and sat down next to me, wiping some sweat out of his eyes.

"Nothing." I lied, "How was your match?" He opened his mouth to speak, but the bell interrupted him, so instead he said,

"See you at lunch." And went to put his sword away. I took off my gear, and changed back into my skirt, and blazer. When I came out of the locker room they were waiting for me.

"What do we do know?" I asked. "Classes only go to lunch?"

"Yeah, we have the rest of the day to either work on homework, or find new ways to spend our time." Lockwood said, "I wonder what's for lunch today?"

Lunch was a salad with small tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. All in all it wasn't too bad, I mean, it was _edible._ After that I went to take a nap, I didn't have any homework (If my home was school, would it be _school_ work?) and didn't fancy reading the books above my desk. I fell onto the bed, and let my boots hang over the edge, so I didn't have to take them off. I closed my eyes, and drifted off.

I gasped, opened my eyes shot wide open, and I breathed hard. I was covered in sweat, and my body felt sore, and tired, probably from being tense for hours. The clock read eight thirty. I had slept for seven hours, yet somehow I felt more tired than I had before I laid down. I got up wearily, and stretched. Then I decided to find my way to the gym.

The halls were dark, and cold. I buttoned up my jacket in a futile attempt to keep warm. The gym doors were closed when I found them, I pulled them open, then stepped inside, and let the heavy doors fall shut. The gym was the same as it had been last time I was there, only more ominous now. It was cold to, and I shivered. My boots made muted taps as I wandered around looking for cleaning supplies.

Before I found them the doors swung open, and two figures came in. One was tall and thin, the other short and stout, so I made my way over to them. As I got closer I could see they were both carrying buckets, and Lockwood had a bundle of rags over his shoulder. His smile practically glowed in the semi-darkness, illuminating his face.

"Evening Luce, you ready to mop the floor!" I said something intelligent in the form of a grunt, and took George's pail. We set to the tedious work with little excitement. It became a routine, George sat at the bucket, and when Lockwood, or my rags got dry, he'd dip it in, and hand it back. I worked well with them, even though I had just met them yesterday, I felt like I had known them my whole life.

I was closer to them then I was to people I'd known my whole life. I thought sadly. And that's when everything began.


	6. Chapter 6

It started with a bad feeling, intuition, I'd call it. It was the feeling you get as you're about to trip, or the sense of unease that fills your mind when you realize someone's watching you. A bitter unpleasant, sour, taste flooded my mouth.

"Does anyone have any gum?" I asked no one in particular. George handed me a stick. Once I was snapping semi-peacefully on the spearmint gum, I felt marginally better..

"Are you almost done?" George asked Lockwood, and I.

"George, we've been at this for fifteen minutes." Lockwood replied patiently,

"If you were hurrying we could already be done." He sulked.

"Maybe the same result could be achieved if you actually _helped_ us." I snapped back. My nightmare had rattled me, and my (debatable) patience was running thin.

Before we really got going Lockwood stopped us. George mumbled something intelligible under his breath.

"Be quiet George." I said, irritably, "You aren't even scrubbing."

"I didn't say anything." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah right."

"NO, seriously, _I didn't say anything._ " His voice was low, but even I could tell he was being honest.

"Well, I definitely heard something, and there it is again!" the mumbling had returned, and with it a steady thudding noise, as if someone was repeatedly jumping. Then a few light taps accompanied the thuds, then silence.

Lockwood stood up, wet rag hanging limply from one hand. He was facing away from us, towards the basketball hoop at the other end of the room.

"What was that?' he asked. Since neither me, nor George had seen anything we shook our heads dumbly.

The dark gym seemed even darker now. I stood up next to Lockwood, and every sound I made seemed magnified, until it was unbearably loud.

"George," I whispered, "you don't happen to have any iron, or silver on you, do you?"

"No." He hissed back."Didn't have time to find anything."

There was something next to the basketball hoop. It pulsed faintly in the darkness. The shape was vaguely humanoid.

"I see it." I stated quietly. Lockwood nodded tensely, and George rose to his feet as well. A faint breeze blew around us, stirring clothes, hair, and fears. The shiny, newly mopped, hardwood floor we were standing on was covered by ankle deep fog. The figure on the other side of the gymnasium moved towards us. The thudding had resumed, I could now tell it was coming from something in our guests hands, every few seconds whatever it was would hit the floor, and bounce right back up again. The light tapping noise was the footsteps. It began to move fast, as it got closer my feeling of dread grew.

All of the sudden the figure flared brightly, and I could see it clearly. It was a girl, she looked to be a little older then me. Her long hair was tied back, but a few strands had escaped, and hung limply about her face. She was wearing the PE uniform that I had received earlier that day, and she was dribbling a basketball.

I also began to hear panting, an uneven wheezing sound, unpleasant on the ears.

Suddenly there was a massive gust of wind. I screwed my eyes shut tight, and stumbled blindly backwards until I hit the rapier racks at my back. A sword clattered to the ground behind me.

In front of me, Lockwood dived out of the way as the figure rushed forwards suddenly aggressive. He lay on his side, pale face illuminated in the faint glow of the girl. Once it had missed Lockwood, it decided to attack George. The basketball she was holding shot out of her hands, and zoomed towards him at a ferocious rate. He ducked just in time. The ball vanished.

I grabbed the blade at my feet, and held it out in front of me, as if it might ward away the _thing_ in front of me. The thin in question was directly in front of me. The dribbling noises had stopped, but I could hear her ragged breathing.

"Don't let it touch you!" Lockwood said from behind it. He had gotten to his feet, and was watching the girl attentively. I nodded, and clutched my sword tighter.

"What do you want?" I asked cautiously, and held out the blade. The girl didn't respond to my words, but when the tip of the blade got close she backed away.

Feeling slightly more confident, I advanced, holding the sword before m. She backed away.

"It doesn't like the sword!" George cried, "It must be silver, or iron!" Silver, or iron! That was it.. I reached behind me with my left hand, while keeping my sword up with my right. ONce I had grabbed hold of the hilt of another sword, I pulled it free, and slid it across the floor towards George. The ghost (I was on board with George's theory now) had a basketball again, my heart beat in time with the ball. I pulled another rapier of the stand, and tossed it at Lockwood, who caught it deftly with one hand.

"Move towards the door." He said tightly, "Take the sabres with you, we can put them back later." So we began inching towards the door, George was out first. He packed out into the hallway, clutching his sword in front of him. Lockwood waited in the doorway for me. I moved towards the hall, and then several things happened at once.

The thudding stopped to be replaced by a quick swish, and Lockwood yelled, and took a step towards me. I had the privilege of watching a luminescent, blue tinged basketball come out of my chest. It's an experience I never want to repeat.

At first I didn't feel anything. Then I felt unbearably cold, as if my very heard was freezing solid inside of me. I cried out in surprise, and staggered forwards a few steps.

Then Lockwood was grabbing my hand, and we were running, racing through the halls. George in front of us. My chest hurt, as if a clawed hand was trying to luck my frozen heart right out of my ribcage. I was gasping, and tripping, and my sword was hanging limply in one hand. I was finding it hard to get enough air.

We stopped running near the library. AS soon as Lockwood let go of me I fell to my knees, and clutched my chest. I shivered.

"Lucy!" Lockwood cried anxiously. I opened my eyes, then wondered when I had shut them in the first place.

Lockwood was crouching in front of me, he looked a little fuzzy, but I was pretty sure he looked concerned.

"Lucy, are you alright?" I opened my mouth to speak, and toppled sideways, onto the floor.

What happens next is a little blurry. But I'll do my best to recount it as accurately as possible. First there was nothing. Then in the nothing there was a great pain. I couldn't quite place what hurt. Then something was pounding me on the chest rhythmically. And then there was something soft on my face, and a tremendous feeling of relief. Then there was nothing.


	7. Chapter 7

I came to myself all at once, and all at once I remembered what had happened. I wasn't overly concerned, since nothing hurt that bad. My chest was sore, but no stabbing pains jabbed me when I moved, so I decided to open my eyes. I was met with the sight of a plain, stone ceiling. I sensed a presence to my left, and rolled over.

George: wearing a crumpled blazer, and a wrinkled white shirt. Tired, partly closed eyes gazed at me through cloudy lenses.

"Morning, Lucy." He said wearily.

"What time is it?" I asked, "And get me some water." I was parched. George handed me a glass on a small table next to the bed.

"Around four," He said, "In the morning." I gulped the water down eagerly, and breathed deeply once I'd finished. I Felt slightly hungry, but nourished somewhat now that I had drank the water, so I decided to sit up.

My chest twinged, and I hissed, but struggled upwards, so I was leaning against the headboard. I was in a long, rectangular room. There was a curtain on one side of me, but just past George I could see a bed, it was empty, and just beyond it a white sheet, hanging from a rail about eight feet of the ground. Through the thin white fabric I could see shadows moving around.

"The infirmary?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"Yeah," George sighed, "We didn't know what to do, so we brought you here."

"About that, what happened?"

"You passed out." I rolled my eyes,

"Evidently."

"And then you started turning blue." For a moment I didn't say anything, then,

"What?"

"Your neck, it was blue. I undid your top button," He said, picking at his own for emphasis, "And the skin there was blue too, but darker." My hand went to my throat, indeed, my top button had been undone. When I looked down though, my skin was it's normal shade.

"So you brought me here?" I asked.

"Not quite. While we were looking, Lockwood noticed something. You weren't breathing." I didn't move. "Your heart wasn't beating either."

"What?" I managed, "But, but I'm here aren't I?"

"Lockwood was panicking, so was I, and we didn't know what to do. I knew that without air, and a beating heart, a person could only survive about five minutes. So I decided to attempt CPR." His voice had gone quiet, and I had to lean forward to hear what he was saying, "And, miraculously, it worked. I was amazed. We carried you here, and the nurse took over. She gave you a shot, and took a pulse, then said you'd be alright, and we could stay if we liked." He gestured around himself, "And here we are." I don't know if was because it had recently stopped, but my heart was pounding wildly.

"I almost died." I said.

"Yes." He confirmed.

"Where's Lockwood?"

"A teacher came and asked what happened, and he went to go explain. Should be back soon."

"And he's okay?"

"He's shaken, we all are."

"Fair enough. What's he going to tell them?" He shook his head,

"I don't know." For a time there was silence. Heavy silence. I had almost died, almost never breathed again, almost never spoke, or laughed, or smiled again. Almost never thought again. I felt oddly disconnected, and at the same time very alive.

My stomach rumbled loudly. I frowned, and threw off the sheet covering my legs. It was time to get some food.

I stood up, and wobbled, leaning dangerously towards the right. My chest hurt, and it hurt badly. I took a step, it didn't hurt _too_ bad.

"Lucy, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to find some food." I was also testing myself, to see if I was okay. I didn't know what after effects CPR had on a person, but I wanted to know I could still walk. I could at least do that.

"Sit back down, I'll get something." As much as I wanted to argue, my legs trembled, and my body felt heavy, so, regretfully, I sat back down. George stood up, and left, shutting the curtain behind him.

I laid back on the bed, and put a hand on my chest, where it hurt the most. I pushed gently, and gasped as pain stabbed through me. I took my hand away in a hurry, and closed my eyes. I wondered if my bruised skin beneath my shirt was blue, as it had been before.

was chilly, so I got back beneath the thin blanket, and curled up on my side to conserve warmth. Eventually I got relatively comfortable, and cleared my mind as best as I could.

"Lucy, Lucy!" I pulled the blanket over my head, and very nicely told Lockwood to leave me alone.

"Goway." I muttered.

"I can't go away until you get up, do you want any food?" I _was_ hungry, but I was to tired to care,

"No." I grunted. "I want to sleep."

"You _have_ been sleeping. For hours, wake up."

"How many hours?"

"Um… Including when you were unconscious? Or not?"

"Not."

"Four straight hours."

"I'll get up on one condition." I consented, "You find me something to do, and I'll get up."

"Oh that's easy, you can work on the homework you missed." I opened my eyes and threw my pillow at him. Lockwood was not sitting as straight as usual, and his grin looked forced, his eyes were tired, but nevertheless he managed to dodge my pillow with lithe grace.

"I haven't missed anything, the school day just started."

"Then you could play a game with us! After we catch some shut-eye of course. We get the day off since we've been up all night."

"If you're going to nap then why did I have to get up?" I asked, and sat up.

"Because you're doing well, and the nurse needs you out of here, apparently somebody broke an arm." I sighed, and stood up. My body didn't protest as much as it had before, I still trembled a little, and each step made my chest hurt, but I managed to make it to the library without to much trouble. Lockwood followed me, occasionally attempting to sound lighthearted, but mostly just sounding exhausted.

Inside the library George was sitting in a sagging leather armchair, reading a book. Lockwood, and I sat in the couch across from it. George put his book on the coffee table.

"Finally, what took so long?" He asked us irritably,

"Lucy didn't want to get up." Lockwood said, and yawned. Yawns spread, as was the way with yawns, so soon George, and I found ourselves yawning as well.

"These two days have been some of the most exciting days of my life." I said. "And I've only been here two days."

"It's been much more exciting since you got here." Lockwood said, and looked at me. He seemed to tired to smile, but his eyes gleamed.

"I can't tell whether that's a compliment, or an insult." I replied drily.

"Compliment, definitely." He said, and closed his eyes. "It was boring around here before, but now…" He trailed off, and threw an arm over his eyes.

"So you're feeling okay, Lucy?" George asked me. Peering at me a little too closely for my comfort. I shifted my weight,

"Yeah, tired, and sore, but I'm alright."

"Good." He too, closed his eyes. But instead of leaning back elegantly, he slouched down into the worn leather, all but vanishing into the chair. I sat there, in silence, watching the morning sunlight from the window creep across the floor.

"George?" I said, I wanted to ask him if he'd found out anymore about, as he called them, visitors.

There was no response.

"Lockwood?"

He stirred briefly, and turned on his side, so he was facing me. I watched as his lips twitched briefly.

Bored, I stood up, and began browsing the library. I had never been an avid reader, although I did enjoy the occasional adventure novel. I managed to find a suitable book, and sat back down next to Lockwood, who was now completely sideways, feet hanging off the end of the couch. I opened my book, and began to read.

Two hours, and forty pages later I closed the book, and set it on the side table. My eyes felt heavy, and my limbs like lead. I threw an arm over my eyes, to block the morning light coming in through a tall window. I closed my eyes…

 _It was a good day. The sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The bell rang, and I came out of school, smiling. It was the weekend, and I was free. My backpack was heavy, it bounced on my back with each stride._

" _Lucy!" It was my friend, Julie, a pretty enough girl, with long black hair, and an easy laugh. "Come to the library with me!"_

" _Of course!" I said, and fell into step beside her. "What are you doing this afternoon?" She shrugged,_

" _I dunno, maybe I'll watch a movie. Why? Want to do something?"_

" _Something like that. Why don't we get some tea?" Julie smiled,_

" _Your treat!" We were in front of the hair salon when we saw our other friends, Steph, and Norris, they were in the fencing club with Julie, and I. They were running, and we jogged to catch up to them. Norris looked back and smiled, Julie was faster than I was, and she reached them before I did. They were crossing the street, and I almost caught up to them when it happened._

 _A bus, shining brightly in the afternoon night came around the corner. I saw the look of fear on my friends faces as they turned in surprise. The bus hit them. I saw their bodies fall to ground, as the bus drove on._

 _It was purely luck that I was the bus driver's face. It was my fencing coach, Jacobs, and in his face I saw nothing but surprise. Then the vehicle was gone, it had vanished as quickly as it came. And I was standing there, next to the limp bodies of my friends, and classmates._

 _And the only thing I could thing to say was,_

" _Guess I won't be needing to get your tea after all."_

 _The days afterwards could only be described as hell. I spent a week at home, officially I was 'recovering from trauma', although most of the time was spent answering questions about Jacobs. After the seven days were up, I went back to school. I walked to school, went to class, and walked back. I didn't go to the library after school, or the small cafe next to it, the only place where we could get decent tea. It was awful._

 _It was a cloudy winter day, and I was almost at the crosswalk when I heard my name._

" _Lucy!" I looked around, but didn't see anyone I knew, so I kept walking. "Lucy!" I shivered, and glanced around again._

 _There was the low rumble of a car coming, mindful of what had happened to my poor friends, I stopped, and waited for the automobile to pass. And waited. And waited. The rumble died._

" _Lucy!" The voice called again. I put my hands over my ears, and shook my head vehemently. "Lucy! Lucy, get out of the way!" It screamed. I ran all the way home, clutching my head._

 _I always heard the voice after that, I only heard it near the crosswalk where my friends had died, and it only ever said a few things: My name, and to get out of the way._

" _Lucy!"_

" _Lucy."_

"Lucy."

"Lucy."

I opened my eyes. I was still on the couch, I had fallen over sideways, so my face was right next to Lockwoods.

"Lucy." he whispered. He was still asleep, and as peaceful as ever. I, on the other hand, was coated in a cold sweat, and my jaw was clenched. I relaxed with some difficulty, and sat up, wincing at the pain in my chest.

George was still in the sagging chair, in the exact same position as he had been when I began reading my book. I quick peek at my watch, revealed it to be around noon. My stomach growled.

I put a hand on Lockwood's shoulder, and shook gently.

"Lockwood." I said. His dark eyes opened, and met mine.

"Lucy?" He asked,

"Who else?" I said, and smiled tiredly, "Let's go get some lunch."


End file.
